About

Hi! I’m Ryann!

I’ve lived my entire 25 years in a suburb just outside of Toronto, but have recently relocated with my partner, Max, to Mimico. I’m blessed to have my two wonderful parents and a little sister whom I adore – most of the time. And of course I can’t forget my three dogs, Jake and Khloe, who live with my parents, and our newest addition, Mickey. If you can’t tell how obsessed I am with the three of them by my Instagram, I’m sure they’ll start popping up on here as well.

The past few years have been a bit of a whirlwind – on top of my undergraduate degree I ended up pursuing a diploma in Event Management and am now working at an AMAZING pharmaceutical company helping to coordinate their medical events. Regardless of my occupation, my true passion will always be food – cooking it, discussing it, eating it. Max or really any of my friends/family know that if they are in the dog house bringing me something delicious is a quick way back into my good books.

As a twenty-something, pseudo-adult I’m in a constant save-splurge battle, but cooking restaurant inspired dishes at home helps me to not feel penniless at the end of the month. Most of the recipes I’ll share here will be budget-conscience (AKA raid the pantry) and perfect for cooking newbies :)

So if you get a chance, take a look around and remember everything seems better with a full stomach.

Here are some random facts about me … :)

I’m obsessed with mermaids – The Little Mermaid was my favourite movie growing up and since most of the ocean is still unexplored there is no convincing me that Atlantica isn’t real.

I’m five foot one, which isn’t necessarily important to know, but it means I have a very good relationship with my seamstress and that I’m on a lifelong search for clothing brands that don’t require her to cut off half the garment. This is half the reason why I’ve started to make my own clothes!

I get overly excited about making lists. Grocery lists, shopping lists, packing lists … I l-o-v-e them all.

I’m the product of multiple generations’ ethic mixing – the general breakdown is that my Dad is Jamaican-Chinese and my Mom is a combination of several central European countries (mainly German/French/Ukrainian).

I reeeallly hated my name until I was around 16 – now I’m quite fond of it. Babies are being named after fruit and air carriers now (lol North West), but when I was growing up a girl with a ‘boy’ name wasn’t very common. If I had a dollar for every time someone has said, “I guess your parents were really hoping for a boy” I wouldn’t need a day job.

I was fortunate enough to have parents and grandparents who are excellent cooks. They encouraged me to experiment in the kitchen from a young age and continue to teach me new recipes and techniques. And regarding recipes, I have very little patience when it comes to measuring out ingredients, I’m going to try my best to keep accurate measurements, but I learned to cook by eye-balling amounts – so bear with me! This tendency means I’m a decent cook but an AWFUL baker, but I’m hoping to improve.

I somehow contracted the chicken pox in my early 20s and it was hands down the worst experience of my life. I’m actually considering writing a post on the entire ordeal just because when I was lying in bed sick as a dog all I could find were absolute HORROR stories about people becoming blind and disfigured afterwards. After days without adequate sleep your imagination can really get the best of you!